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Saturday, 5 July 2008

On the Up

Some good things… I went for two jobs, and to my surprise find myself in the happy situation of being in demand! That is rather nice and somewhat unexpected, and leaves me with the decision about which to pursue. Both have pros, both have cons… one is more money (which should be the clincher) but the other… I have a feeling that if all goes well with the book, then the other will be a real help. And my instinct, bless it, does seem to sometimes run the show without me, so perhaps I should let it be. Either way, perhaps I am not doomed to live by the bins in a cardboard box, although for a while there it was tough going.

It’s still not going to be a picnic, as whichever I choose, the first wage will not be in until end of August, so still there are a few hurdles to fly over – paying for travel, rent, bills, food – all this is still a source of worry. But I can probably extend my overdraft if I can show the bank evidence of a job offer, so this might get me through the summer. Cross fingers!

As for the novel – it is shaping up quite nicely, if I say so myself. I took myself to Borders and spent nearly a full day researching current book titles, and making note of the stories that are similar to mine, seeing who publishes such titles. It is a tricky thing as of course I think my book is completely unique and there is nothing else like it, but I need to work out where I think my novel fits into the grand scheme of published work, so people cleverer than I can work out how to sell it. At least, I think that is the idea.

I have also started my agent research – I made a list of what I want from an agent, and then have been looking through books such as Writer’s Market UK to find out what agents might be suitable. There are so many things to think about – (and this is all from the ‘ideal world’ perspective, i.e. they all like me) do I want a large agency that might have a huge list of clients and therefore not much time for me? Do I want a smaller agency that might have time for me but perhaps not the same pulling power? I can’t go for any that charge a ‘reading fee’, and I think I would like an agent based in London. I am also thinking that it might be useful in future to have an agent that represents children’s as well as adult’s fiction – so pipes up my intuition again – I hope it’s not just indigestion. But the good thing is I have at least two full weeks to really consider all of this, as it would be madness to have gone through this ‘sink or swim’ year with the novel and not carefully plan to get this bit as right as I can!

And you know what… researching for agents is fun. This is probably because none have had the chance to reject me yet, so all have potential to be fabulous. Yee-hah!

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Jayne Ferst

In the 1970s a girl was born and sent to school for a crime she didn't commit. That girl finally escaped from a dull comprehensive into the lost artistic underground. Today, still wanted by her job, she survives as a writer of fortune. If you need a story, if no one else can help, and if you remember the A Team theme tune, maybe you can sing it with me.